


One Day

by Koschei_Oakdown



Category: Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-14 03:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16031681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koschei_Oakdown/pseuds/Koschei_Oakdown
Summary: Sin's pretty powerful on Halloween - shame Hal has to interfere





	One Day

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to DC Comics

The intrusion hadn't been expected, no one was supposed to know of Sinestro's presence on Earth, but the problem was quickly dealt with. One hard blow to the back of the head and Hal was out cold, a messy pile on the ground, no time for protest. It was still incredible how unobservant to surprise attacks Hal could be.

Of course, the human could have woken up at any moment, ready to cause trouble once again, but that too was easily solved. No need to remove his ring, it wouldn't work against the yellow of a Qwardian one, and Sinestro had constructed a cage around Hal's unconscious body. Then gagged him for good measure. With that, Sinestro dusted off his hands and returned to his work. No more trouble from Hal Jordan.

But an angry glare was boring into the back of his head, Thaal could feel it, very distracting, no matter how he tried to ignore it. For a few minutes, he did try, really hard, but by that time, he'd finished the final touches to his weapon and had nothing else to concentrate on.

His fingers tapped against the yellow surface of his weapon, he was impatient for the thing to start working as it should, and a muffled angry noise from behind him cut through his thoughts. Killing Hal would silence the human, Thaal knew, but he hesitated to do so, they didn't need to fight.

With this in mind, Sinestro approached the cage where within he had placed Hal and after a moment of further consideration, he removed the gag. "Sinestro," Hal spat, "what are you up to?" Still, he was on his knees, the cage wasn't high enough to allow anything else, and it ruined any hope Hal had of being intimidating.

"Sinestro," Sinestro repeated, though his was far politer, "is finally attaining the power to destroy the Guardians once and for all." As Hal watched with narrowed eyes, Sinestro constructed a yellow seat and sat down, crossing his legs. "I believe you are aware of your own Earth date?"

It appeared Thaal had been expecting too much, Hal's brow furrowed in confusion. "No? Today is the holiday you humans call Halloween," Sinestro informed, inspecting his nails, "where, as I was told, the entire planet will attempt to terrify each other. What better source of power could I ask for? This -" he waved an airy hand to his weapon he'd spent so much time perfecting on Qward - "will harness the energy, for me, and I will kill the Guardians."

In Thaal's opinion, it was an excellent idea, he was quite proud of the plan he'd come up with a year ago. Hal only looked disgusted. "That's insane. And stupid. The Guardians are immortal, you can't kill them. Like, literally. Aren't you supposed to be smart?"

The insult was shrugged off with ease, Hal's words barely hurt him anymore. "Everything dies," Sinestro countered. "Even the Guardians. And they will, I assure you, by my hand. Whether it be today or years from now, it matters not. Everything will be set right."

No more exile on Qward with the inherently evil natives, Thaal would return to Korugar, he would go home, and no Guardians would be there to stop him. Forget the Corps, forget Hal Jordan, forget order and whatever else he used to obsess over, he wanted to feel the desert sand under his feet, he wanted the heat of multiple suns to warm his skin.

"Besides," Sinestro added, pulling himself from his thoughts, "the universe will be much better off without the Guardians, Jordan. I know things about them that could destroy your entire world. But I won't tell you. I have no obligation to give you answers anymore."

Before Hal could reply, Sinestro stood up, alerted to an adjustment that needed to be made to his weapon. That didn't stop Hal from calling after him, "Yeah, right. You're probably lying. Saying you won't tell me because you don't actually know anything. That's so you."

As if Hal knew anything about him anymore. "Not this time," Sinestro said smoothly, adjusting a setting on his weapon. It was only slight but perfectionist as he was, he had to ensure it was all exact. "You hated the Guardians like I did, surely you are aware they are not as ethical as they should be."

Done with the adjustments, Sinestro rested his fingers back on the surface of the weapon and glanced to Hal. The human wasn't looking at him, eyes focused on the entwined hands in his lap. "They're doing their best, Sin. And they never lied to me." By the tone, the fierce gaze fixed back on him, Thaal could tell the subtle point Hal was making, Sinestro was a liar, the Guardians were not.

The absurdity of the statement caused Thaal to laugh, he couldn't help it. "Are you quite sure?" he asked, a small smile dancing on his lips at Hal's continued delusions. "Would you even know? It must be nice to live in your world, Jordan, no complications." A hint of bitterness touched Sinestro's voice and aware of it, he turned away again.

"Yeah," Hal said flatly, "I'm having the time of my life." He spoke as though he had any right to be annoyed, but it was his fault, all of this, he'd had plenty of chances. Still, Thaal would give him more, stuck in this pattern.

Silence fell, Thaal had no energy to get angry with Hal, he'd given up on that a long time ago. Instead he focused on his weapon, on the power gathering, on the anticipation of finally ending all of this.

Something tightened around his ankle. Confused, Sinestro glanced down to see a green construct wrapping around his leg, having slipped between the bars of Hal's cage. All he had time for was a quick acknowledgement he'd just made a mistake worthy of Hal Jordan, then he was tugged off balance, and he hit the ground hard.

The pain, slight though it was, distracted him, the cage around Hal disappeared, leaving the Green Lantern free to attack. So close was Sinestro's plan to failing, once again Hal was interfering, ruining everything, and Thaal couldn't let it happen.

Scrambling to his feet, Sinestro was just in time to block a hard light construct swung his way, but Hal was already following up on the attack. Strong, the human was, stronger than expected, Sinestro just barely managed to duck under the latest construct and send back his own.

The stakes were high, Thaal knew he couldn't afford to lose this fight, but he did, Hal had him on his back, how had he managed that? But still, Sinestro fought, Hal would not stop him, no one would stop him.

Knuckles collided with Sinestro's face, his head snapped back and whacked against the hard ground. Stunned, he lay, trying to focus through the wave of dizziness, and Hal took the moment to pin him even more firmly against the ground. "How do I turn it off?" Hal demanded, he had to be talking about the weapon. But Thaal wouldn't tell, it was his only hope, he wouldn't give it up.

Blinking away his blurry vision, Sinestro bared his teeth in a defiant refusal but Hal was having none of it. White eyes narrowed, and Hal pulled Sinestro to his feet. The room swam, Thaal stumbling in response, he supposed he had a concussion. Whether he did or not, he had no hope of fighting when Hal dragged him to the weapon. "Shut it down," came the instruction, Hal's breath hot on Sinestro's cheek.

Mutely, Thaal shook his head, which just made it hurt more, so he quickly stopped and glared at Hal's shoulder. "No," he asserted himself, making it clear he wouldn't. Then the ground was rushing up and Thaal just barely managed to put his hands out in time to stop his face from smashing into the ground. Hal must have shoved him to the side.

"Damn you," Hal spat, he was annoyed, but Thaal was viciously satisfied with the victory. Hal wouldn't be able to destroy his weapon, it had been made of yellow material and Green Lantern rings would have no effect on it. But the assumption had been made too soon, Hal pulled a pipe from the wall and gripped it tightly in both of his hands. What he was about to do was immediately obvious and Sinestro's eyes widened.

"No," Sinestro said again, but this was less controlled, less firm, just desperate. It was too late. With the enhanced strength from his ring empowering him, Hal swung the pipe into the weapon and it crumpled, electricity crackling all around as the power died. There went all the work that had been done for the past year. The Qwardians wouldn't be happy.

Devastated by the destruction, Sinestro sat back on his heels and buried his face in his hands. Still, his head was throbbing, a bruise forming from Hal's fist, and he was sure a lump was rising where his skull had connected with the ground. Or, considering the warm liquid he could feel trickling down his neck, perhaps a scab.

"This was never gonna work, Sin," Hal sighed, which had Thaal looking up. Now the threat was gone, Hal seemed more relaxed, pipe held loosely in his hand, leaning against the destroyed hunk of yellow metal. "I won't let you kill the Guardians, I won't let you hurt anyone." The pipe clattered to the ground, Hal had tossed that to the side too.

It was as though the clattering was ringing all around, echoing, strangely loud, and Sinestro blinked several times. He felt as though he should be fighting, destroying Hal for taking his life from him, but the sound made no sense. An ugly blur across his vision, the pipe was lying still on the ground, it couldn't be making any sound. That confused him.

Before Thaal knew what was happening, he'd tilted sideways and collapsed, his head was killing him. The ground was cold, Earth was always cold, he missed Korugar, and a shudder passed through his body. "Sinestro!" Warm hands rested on Sinestro's shoulder, his side, the touch uncertain, then they slid up to the back of his neck. When they moved back, Thaal could see the smear of his own bright purple blood stark against the white of Hal's gloves.

There was something in Hal's expression, probably guilt, Thaal decided, because Hal couldn't stomach murder. "Feeling regretful?" Sinestro questioned, voice smooth as silk. If he couldn't hurt Hal physically, he'd at least hurt him with his words. "You should be. You've finally killed me, Hal, I hope you're happy." The last part felt more sincere than Thaal had intended, but he supposed if he couldn't be happy, Hal should be, at least.

"You're not dying, you drama queen," Hal refuted, his irritation clear. There was a pause. "He's not dying, is he?" Hal added to his ring, then he said, attention back to Sinestro, "See? You're gonna be fine. Anyway, I wouldn't be any happier with you dead, even if you are asking for it." While Hal spoke, he bent over Sinestro and applied pressure to the wound. "Fall sleep and I'll throw you in the Arctic."

As Sinestro's eyelids had been sliding shut, he forced them back open, though he hated to take Hal's orders. Still, getting tossed into this 'Arctic', a place he knew to be colder than most of Earth, didn't sound very pleasant. Especially when he considered Hal was supplying much more warmth than the rest of the planet ever had. This spot, with Hal, despite how temporary he knew it to be, how false, was a place Thaal never wanted to leave.


End file.
